


So Atlas Held Up the Sky, Now I Hold You

by Mr_Lonely



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Swearing, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23843623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Lonely/pseuds/Mr_Lonely
Summary: As a child, Tony firmly believed that bad things only happened when the sun wasn't out. That was why it was total bullshit that something went wrong today.-----Tony can hardly go one day without someone trying to kill him. Only this time, he was with Peter.And the kid is a lot stronger than anyone gives him credit for.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 13
Kudos: 137
Collections: The Friendly Neighborhood Exchange





	So Atlas Held Up the Sky, Now I Hold You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brentinator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brentinator/gifts).



> Prompts:  
> 1\. "You're hurt." "Of course I'm hurt, can we focus on something important now?"  
> 2\. Character A shielding Character B with their body from a incoming attack, only for both of them to get hurt in the process

As a child, Tony firmly believed that bad things only happened when the sun wasn't out. His parents’ murder was at night. Jarvis told him the next gloomy day. 

Sokovia. 

The sun may have been out for the Snap, but it wasn't Earth's sun so that didn't count. 

It was a childish belief, sure, but Tony didn't have much else of his childhood that he wanted to hold on to, so it stuck.

That was why it was total bullshit that something went wrong today.

Finals at Midtown were hell, as Peter often lamented. That, topped with Decathlon prep (even though the season was done), and Spiderman-ing (Peter used it as a verb, which made no sense to Tony but that stuck too) were really taking a toll on the kid. That's why they were at one of Tony's favorite hole-in-the-wall cafes. It served the best cupcakes and Peter had a serious sweet tooth. 

That was the plan, anyway. Everything happened so fast, Tony only processed bits and pieces. Peter sitting across from him, laughing one second then tilting his head, as if he'd heard something. A boom that shook everything. Someone screamed. 

Tony didn't even have time to call his suit from his chest. 

At least he was wearing his prosthetic today. 

Tony coughed and tried to move. “Peter? Kid, where-” 

Years of practice had him slamming his jaw closed as an excruciating pain ripped up his good leg. 

_ Fuck _ . 

Tony blinked away the dust, but everything was dark. “Peter! FRIDAY, where is he? What happened?”

“I...I'm here, Mr. Stark,” came a soft rasp not three feet in front of him. 

“FRI, boost the light on my reactor.”

The blue light filled the space, but there was no response from the A.I. Tony would worry about that later.

“Kid, are you okay? What-”

Tony's eyes finally adjusted and found Peter. He was standing, dropped to one knee, holding up a massive concrete piece that used to be the ceiling. Tony's mouth went dry.

“Peter? Are you okay?”

The kid gave a frantic nod, but his face was totally slack and pale. His eyes were wide but not seeing.

“FRIDAY, send a suit  _ now. _ Hey, Underoos, look at me buddy.” 

Peter blinked and looked over at Tony. Now that his eyes had adjusted, he could see Peter shaking. 

Unfortunately, Peter's eyes adjusted a lot faster and the kid was a “put everyone else before yourself” idiot. 

_ Wonder where he learned that. Real mystery. _

“Mr. Stark… you're hurt.”

If Tony hadn't been reading Peter's lips, he would have never heard what the kid said. Ice crawled up Tony's spine as he put two and two together. 

Peter was shaking, not visibly hurt but his face was colorless and even now his eyes were wide and tears were spilling over. 

Tony was good at a lot of things, but deflecting was one of his best. 

“Yeah, I'm hurt. Let’s focus on something important, okay?”  _ Fuck, think Stark, think!  _ “Kid, tell me about your last day of school. It's finally summer, right?”

He got a weak nod in response. Not good enough.

“Got any plans with your friends? Ted and that scary girl you're in love with?”

There was a moment of silence, but it felt a lot longer. “D-do you mean Ned and M.J.?”

“Yeah, those two.”

“W-well, Ned g-got a job helping old people fix their computers a-and M.J. is gonna work for a nonprofit--”

There was a horrific crunching noise coming from above them that would haunt Tony for the rest of his life. Peter gasped and shifted, no longer shaking. His eyes had lost their momentary focus and were glassy again.

“Peter? Peter, talk to me.”

The only sounds that filled the space were far too short breaths. 

“FRIDAY, where is that suit?”

A low hum came from Tony’s arm, and finally the A.I. responded. “ _ Digging….sir… four minutes… structure… unsound…” _

Four minutes. That was way too long. Also, Peter had started mumbling to himself, which was not good. Tony strained his ears to catch what the kid was saying.

“No, no, no, no, please,  _ please _ , someone help me, please, I can't, _ I can't _ …” Over and over. It broke Tony’s ruined heart. 

“Kid, Peter, honey look at me, please?” 

Tears were streaming down Peter’s face as he choked down shallow breaths between his pleading and crying. Tony absolutely could not stand it. He frantically pulled at his leg, but it was trapped soundly under the rubble. The other times Peter’d had a panic attack, Tony was there to hug him, to calm his kid down and be there when he broke. The fact that he couldn't now… that he was so damn close but out of arm’s reach… 

“Peter, baby, you have to breathe. Listen to me, I’m right here, okay?” Then Tony got an idea. “FRI, sync up the intensity of the arc light with my breathing.”

Peter’d confessed one night after a bad nightmare that, while Morgan had her teddy bear Mr. Rainbow, it was Tony’s arc light that scared away the monsters. 

“Peter, breathe with me, okay? When the light gets bright, breathe in. When it gets darker, breathe out.”

Tony forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply, even if his own heart was racing. For a few seconds, it seemed like it wasn't going to work, and god if that didn't make Tony panic-

Then Peter drew in a shuddering breath, and coughed it out. 

“Good, good job, Peter. Do that again for me,  _ mimmo.” _

Peter forced a breath in and out, eyes fixed on the arc reactor. “T...tony?”

“I'm here, Peter. You're gonna be okay, you're not alone. You can do this, you just gotta hang on a little bit longer.”

Peter shook his head, and his arms started shaking again. 

“No, no I can't, Mr. Stark help, I can't…”

“Yes, you can, you're not alone, Peter, just listen to me-”

“Tony, help me-”

“FRI!” Tony snapped. No response. 

“I can't-”

“Peter-”

\-----------------------------

Fifteen minutes.

Peter had held up the better part of the building’s  _ upper floor _ for fifteen minutes. A floor that, being an old building, was mostly brick and metal and concrete. 

Tony knew the kid’s strength was insane, but once they’d finally cleared medbay he’d done the math.

No way his suits would have held up. Nor Cap. The fact that Peter had strength up near Thor of the Hulk’s standards was a little crazy. If Tony hadn't been sitting, he would have fallen over. 

As it was, Strange was the closest to the disaster and magicked the debris away. Turns out, it was an attempt on offing Tony by some group of angry former employees. That made Tony roll his eyes. 

Now, though, he was propped against Peter’s headboard with said teenager plastered to his side. As soon as the adrenaline wore off, he’d passed out. Dr. Cho said there was minor muscle damage, but nothing that wouldn't heal with a nap, given how fast Peter’s metabolism is. 

The real damage was mental, and that took longer to fix. 

Tony ran his hand through Peter’s soft hair. His kid… Peter had held up literal  _ tons  _ of weight to keep Tony safe. 

It was time he helped with the weight. 


End file.
